Ovid: Curse Poetry

Catalog description

This course will examine the whole of Ovid’s mysterious Ibis , a riddling curse poem inspired by a lost Greek work and directed at an anonymous personal enemy. We will mull over Ovid’s dark riddles, consider his motivations for writing such a work from exile, and read the poem against a selection of actual ancient curse tablets-all to help us gain some understanding of this peculiar genre within which Ovid whets his stylus of retribution. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement Satisfies Classical Languages and Literature major requirement. ​ Satisfies Classical Studies major requirement. Satisfies Global Literary Theory interdisciplinary minor requirement. Satisfies Latin minor requirement. Prerequisites & Notes LAT 201 or placement test. Students who have not yet taken a LAT course beyond 201 may enroll in this course as LAT 225. Fall 2026